The Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played a style of jazz influenced by classical music, cool jazz, blues and bebop.[1] The band performed over a forty year span with only one personnel change.[2]Under John Lewis's leadership they carved their own niche by specializing in elegant, restrained music (touching on bebop, cool jazz, third stream and classical music) that used sophisticated counterpoint yet nonetheless retained a strong blues feel. John Lewis firmly believed that J.S. Bach and the blues were compatible, combining classical form with jazz improvisation and polyphony.[3] The band was also noted for their ability to play alongside a variety of other groups.[4] For the majority of their career the group comprised John Lewis (piano and musical director), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (double bass) and Connie Kay (drums).[5] Initially active into the 1970s, until Jackson quit due to creative disagreement and frustration with their busy touring schedule, the MJQ reformed intermittently into the 1990s.[6] Contents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Jazz_Quartet# hide *1 History *2 Style *3 Honors *4 Discography **4.1 Compilations *5 Filmography *6 References *7 External links Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=1 edit In 1946, John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Ray Brown (bass) and Kenny Clark (drums), members of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, formed a quartet as a side project.[7] By 1951, this combo recorded as the Milt Jackson Quartet. In 1952, Percy Heath replaced Brown on bass and in late 1952 they took up the name “Modern Jazz Quartet.” In 1955, the final switch to the band’s lineup occurred as Connie Kay (drums) replaced Clark. In their middle years the group often played with classical musicians, but their repertoire consisted mainly of bebop and swing era standards. From 1952-1955 the group recorded for Prestige and released two of their most famous compositions, “Django” (a tribute to Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt) and “Bags’ Groove,” (“Bags” being Jackson’s nickname).[8] From 1956-1974 they recorded under the Atlantic Record label, with occasional projects with other record labels such as Apple.[9] In 1974 Jackson departed from the group and they ceased to play until the early 1980s when they began reuniting periodically.[10] The MJQ released their final recording in 1993. When Kay died in November of 1994 the group stopped reuniting. Five years later in October of 1999 Milt Jackson died; John Lewis in March 2001; and Percy Heath in April 2005.[11] Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=2 edit The paradox of the MJQ's music-making was that each individual member could improvise with an exciting vibrancy while maintaing the precision and collectedness of a classical group. They typified cool jazz through John Lewis' composition skills, but also exemplify bop with Milt Jackson's virtuosic improvisation. As musical director, John Lewis envisioned a style that fused composition and improvisation.Lewis wrote both “fugue-like” classically influenced pieces as well modern jazz standards such as “Django.”[12] The Modern Jazz Quartet played in a variety of styles, but generally played a combination of cool jazz and bop. Milt Jackson brought a strong bebop influence to the group with his virtuosic improvisation and was the first to play vibraphone in a bop style.[13] Percy Heath too brought a hard-bop influence to the group having played with J.J. Johnson, Art Blakey, Thelonius Monk and Clifford Brown. [14] The MJQ’s style was characterized by flexibility; they played alongside orchestras and brass bands, covered a Beatles tune and performed at prestigious venues.[15][16] Honorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=3 edit The Modern Jazz Quartet has earned a variety of honors including the first NAACP award for cultural contributions in the field of music in 1957 to top billing on numerous jazz magazine polls to honorary doctorates from Berklee College.[17] Discographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=4 edit Dates put in front indicate the recording dates *1951-52: The Quartet (Savoy, 1956?) - reissued on several labels under different titles (First Recordings 1952, Modern Jazz Quartet, Anthology) *1952: The Modern Jazz Quartet (Prestige) *1953: 1953: An Exceptional Encounter (The Jazz Factory, 2001) - with Ben Webster *1955: Concorde (Prestige) *1953-55: Django (Prestige, 1956) *1956: Fontessa (Atlantic) *1956: The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn (Atlantic) - with Jimmy Giuffre *1958: The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (Atlantic) *1957: The Modern Jazz Quartet (Atlantic) *1957: The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio at the Opera House (Verve) *1958: The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2 (Atlantic) - with Sonny Rollins *1959: Pyramid (Atlantic) *1959: Music from Odds Against Tomorrow (United Artists) - also released as Patterns (United Artists, 1960) *1960: European Concert (Atlantic) *1960: Dedicated to Connie (Atlantic, 1995) *1960: The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra (Atlantic) *1960: Third Stream Music (Atlantic) with guests including the Jimmy Giuffre 3 *1962: The Comedy (Atlantic) *1962: Lonely Woman (Atlantic) *1963: In a Crowd (Atlantic) *1963: 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival (Douglas, 1997) *1964: The Sheriff (Atlantic) *1964: Collaboration (Atlantic Records) - with Laurindo Almeida *1964-65: The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Atlantic) *1965: Jazz Dialogue (Atlantic) - with The All Star Jazz Band *1966: Concert in Japan '66 (Atlantic/Jazz Forever, Japan only) *1966: Blues at Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) *1966: Place Vendôme (Philips) - with The Swingle Singers *1967: Live at the Lighthouse (Atlantic) *1969: Under the Jasmin Tree (Apple) *1969: Space (Apple) *1971: Plastic Dreams (Atlantic) *1972: The Legendary Profile (Atlantic) *1973: In Memoriam (Little David) *1974: Blues on Bach (Atlantic) *1974: The Complete Last Concert (Atlantic) - includes The Last Concert and More from the Last Concert *1981: Reunion at Budokan 1981 (Pablo) *1982: Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82 (Pablo) *1984: Echoes (Pablo) *1985: Topsy: This One's for Basie (Pablo) *1987: Three Windows (Atlantic) *1988: For Ellington (EastWest) *1992: A Night at the Opera (Jazz Door, 1994) *1992-93: MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Atlantic) Compilationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=5 edit Dates put in front indicate the date of first release *1960: Plays for Lovers (Prestige) *1973: The Art of The Modern Jazz Quartet / The Atlantic Years (Atlantic) *2002: A Proper Introduction to the Modern Jazz Quartet: La Ronde (Past Perfect) *2003: The Complete Modern Jazz Quartet Prestige & Pablo Recordings (Prestige/Pablo/Fantasy, 4 CD box) *2005: The Modern Jazz Quartet & Jimmy Giuffre – Complete Recordings (Lone Hill, 2005) *2010: The MJQ in the Movies (Giant Steps) *2011: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings of The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-64 (Mosaic, 7 CDs) *2012: Original Album Series - The Modern Jazz Quartet (Warner, 5 CDs) Filmographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Jazz_Quartet&action=edit&section=6 edit *2005: The Modern Jazz Quartet: 35th Anniversary Tour *2007: 40 Years of MJQ *2008: Django Category:Bands